Letters, the Week of Feb. 16, 2017

Mort Klein and Elizabeth Berney’s column on the immigration ban was both offensive and full of selective and misleading information (“Preventing Radical Islamists from Murdering Americans Is a Moral Act,” Feb. 9). There simply is no evidence or data that supports that the measures included in the order will do anything to keep us safer.

Despite what they claim, the purpose is not to establish an effective vetting system; we already have that in place, which is why there have been a total of zero deaths in the United States from acts of terrorism committed by citizens of the seven countries included in the ban. The real purpose is to test the limits of executive power, stoke the fears of the general public, scapegoat vulnerable populations and create an atmosphere where citizens are more willing to sacrifice their own civil rights in exchange for perceived safety.

The authors conveniently ignore that the rise in hate crimes and anti-Semitic acts since the election are not being perpetrated by immigrants, refugees or Muslims, but are, in fact, coming from far-right nationalists and white supremacists whose voices were amplified and emboldened by President Donald Trump and his advisors throughout the campaign.

Just last week, former KKK imperial wizard David Duke rejoiced at the recent moves of the Republican administration. To align with this administration and their most vocal supporters, and to somehow frame it as a moral act rooted in Jewish law, is highly suspect and offensive.

Maybe, as the authors were selecting their supporting texts, they might have noticed the most repeated phrase in the entire Torah: to love the stranger, for we know the feelings of the stranger, having ourselves been strangers.

I find Keri to be a thoughtful and engaging writer — I always smile when I read her narrative that accompanies the recipe, as I can totally relate. While it might not be the same for every family, there is always a back story to a recipe. Most importantly, the recipes are terrific — very approachable.

Thank you for bringing Keri into my home. I love her wit and great recipes.